I must share with you the final tally in our effort to save our concord grapes from the rats. We put up eighteen pies’ worth of concord grapes in the freezer– this is seventy two cups after stemming. So yes, it was worth the labor and the invention of rat proofs!

Grape Pie

Oven 400 F

9″ unbaked pie shell

Topping:

3/4 c flour

1/2 c sugar

cut in 1/3 c butter until crumbly

Filling:Combine these three ingredients thoroughly.

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

dash of salt

————–

1 Tb lemon juice or more

1 Tb melted butter

4 cups concord-type grapes

Slip the skins from the grapes and put the sugar combination with the skins in a bowl. Simmer the grape innards until very soft, soft enough to easily press through a sieve to remove the seeds. I have tried other methods but none work as well as this one. Mix the now seedless grape pulp with the other filling ingredients including the melted butter and lemon juice. Pour into the pie crust and scatter the crumbly topping over the top before baking for 40 to 50 minutes. Best served at room temperature, not hot.